February 7, 2013

Washington D.C. – The NBA announced today that Wizards Assistant Coach Sam Cassell will compete in the 2013 Sears Shooting Stars as part of State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on Saturday, Feb. 16 at the Toyota Center in Houston.

Cassell, who played three of his 15 NBA seasons in Houston and won back-to-back titles with the Rockets in 1994 and 1995, will participate on behalf of the Western Conference. He will join current Rockets guard James Harden, Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook, Maya Moore of the Minnesota Lynx, the Seattle Storm’s Tina Thompson and Robert Horry, his teammate for three seasons (1993-96) and two championship runs with the Rockets.

Sears Shooting Stars is part of State Farm All-Star Saturday Night, an all-inclusive skills showcase, which will take place on Saturday, Feb. 16 at the Toyota Center in Houston and will be televised live by TNT at 8 p.m. ET. The other events consist of the the Taco Bell Skills Challenge, a contest of top guards working against the clock to complete a series of passes, free throws, layups and agility drills; the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest; and the Sprite Slam Dunk contest. For the first time, State Farm All-Star Saturday Night will feature a new format that pits the Eastern Conference against the Western Conference in a night of competitions that will raise money for charity.

The Sears Shooting Stars contest features one current NBA player, one current WNBA player and an NBA legend on each team. There are six numbered shooting locations of increasing difficulty, with each team attempting to make all shots in numeric order in the fastest time. Each team will select a specific player rotation to follow throughout the competition. Each shot must be made before the next player begins shooting in succession. Teams have up to two minutes to complete the entire shooting course.

The NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 17, will air live on TNT, ESPN Radio and in 215 countries and will be broadcast in 47 languages.